Interview with James Nelson, Author of On the Volcano

Enjoy the following interview with James Nelson, author of On the Volcano:

1.         You have had an extensive writing career. Did you always plan on writing a young adult
novel?

No, the idea never crossed my mind. The fact is, On the Volcano started out as just “a
novel.” It was to be read by anyone––adults, young adults, intelligent
children, whoever wanted a good story. But publishing is about marketing, and each book that goes out is aimed at a particular market. GP Putnam’s Sons felt my book would do well in the Young Adult market, so that is where they aimed it. So, no, I did not plan on writing a young adult novel.

2 .        What was it about the landscape of volcanoes you had seen and the Rocky Mountains you once lived by that drew this particular story out of you?

It’s really not so much about volcanoes or the Rocky Mountains, it’s more just happenstance. Let me explain. Occasionally I sit down and write an opening paragraph for a novel just for fun. Opening paragraphs are, of course, vitally important to a novel, and I like to see if I can write
a good one.

I re-read these paragraphs from time to time, and one paragraph I liked more and more was about a young girl looking across the crater of a huge, dilapidated volcano, wondering what was on the other side.

So I wrote a few more paragraphs. And then I wrote a few more, and a few more after that. Before I knew it, I had 10,000 words about Katie MacDonald and her father, and found I was writing a novel to be titled On the Volcano.

3.         Why did you choose a female to be your main character?

As in the last answer, I didn’t really choose Katie McDonald, she just happened. She wasn’t named Katie McDonald at the time, she was just the young girl I saw when I wrote that first paragraph. It don’t know why she appeared. Maybe I wanted to write something about a young, vulnerable
person who was going to have to face a lot of troubling circumstances. I don’t know. That’s what’s fascinating about the writing process.

4.        What type of research, if any, did you do to write the book?

I didn’t need to do much research. I did some, to make sure the saddle scabbard I described actually existed in real life. I was familiar with “fletching arrows,” but I did some research into arrow-making just to make sure. I researched volcanoes to make sure mine was not bigger than any real volcano on the planet. (It wasn’t; the Ngorongoro crater in Africa is about the same size as mine.) But I didn’t need to do extensive research on the landscape. Growing up in Colorado, and traveling in Utah, Nevada, and other desert-like states gave me lots of useful background.

5.         Did you have a particular interest in this timeframe––1800’s––of the book?

I have always has a fondness for the 19th century, particularly for the writers of that century. My college major was in 19th century English literature. I got into American writers and writers from other countries, on my own.

6.            Katie is a very strong person. Did you have someone in mind––a role model in your
life––as you wrote about her?

 I did not have anyone in particular in mind. As Katie began to develop, I wanted her to be strong,
able to face the problems and dangers of living on the edge of a volcano. The question to be answered was, what will she do when confronted with the problems brought on by the presence of other people, not all of whom may have her best interests at heart.

 7.         Do you have another novel in the works? Will it be another young adult novel?

I do have another novel, titled Teddy, finished except for polishing, and it is another coming-of-age story, this time about a boy. Again, this not a novel written specifically for young adults. Like On the Volcano, I have written it for a general audience, and young adults are cordially invited to read it along with the rest of the public.

I hope you’ll read it and like it.

Thank you, James.  I do look forward to reading your next novel!

Check back tomorrow for a book giveaway of On the Volcano!

A girl, a volcano, and one good story...

 

Book Review by Molly J. Bredehoft

Title: On the Volcano

Author: James Nelson

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile

ISBN 13: 978-0399252822

Price: $16.99 (Canada $21.00)

Gold, greed, and romance await for Katy MacDonald to discover as she steps into life as a young woman.  A tomboy having lived a secluded life with her father in the late 1800’s near a volcano, Katy is soon to find that there is more to life than hunting and exploring her volcano.   And she is ready.

Written in first person, the reader is drawn into Katy’s life and is as eager as she is to explore beyond the isolated volcano, the ever changing and yet constant in her life.  Katy is tough, as a girl growing up with just a father and in the woods would be, and yet she longs for someone to love her, like any other girl of her time, or beyond, would do.

James Nelson, in his debut novel, has crafted a well told, adventurous story.  Although the book has been published for young adults, the story will intrigue readers of all ages.  Not only does the author explore the life, thoughts and feelings of a young girl turning into a woman, but he also gives readers a realistic view of life in the late 1800’s.  The other characters in the book are just as interesting as Katy, and although the story is told in her voice, he includes the other lives of the characters as they relate to her.  Nelson’s effective story telling reveals a vivid image of the other characters, the landscape, and the time as he gently weaves them throughout the book.

Exciting, captivating, and at times heartbreaking, On the Volcano will leave readers admiring Katy MacDonald as she faces the challenge of moving from a naïve girl, to a young woman. 

Check back tomorrow for a personal interview with James Nelson!

Check in of Friday for a book giveaway!

What does your dream mean?

Book Review by Molly J. Bredehoft

Title: 5 Steps to Decode Your Dreams

Author: Gillian Holloway, Ph.D

Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.

P.O. Box 4410

Naperville, IL 60567-4410

ISBN 978-1-4022-5598-4

Price: $12.99

As a writer, advice is often given to keep track of your dreams. Why? Because dreams can be a valuable source for a writer to draw upon when telling stories and developing characters.  Certain taboos have been associated with interpreting dreams, but when the chance came for me to read 5 Steps to Decode Your Dreams, I was intrigued.  Yes, I wanted to understand what some of my own dreams mean, but more importantly I wanted to understand how dreams might relate to human nature and the characters I write about.

Book Review: One Flight Up

One Flight Up: Four women, four friendships and the men in their lives
Book Review by Molly J. Bredehoft

Title: One Flight Up
Author: Susan Fales-Hill
Publisher: Washington Square Press
A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
ISBN 978-1-4391-2500-7
Price: $13.00

If you are curious as to what is taking place behind the closed doors of New York City’s most influential and powerful people, One Flight Up explores the lifestyle and friendships of four intermingled women working and living in the city.

Characters India, Esme, Abby and Monique are successful women having first met when they all attended the same private school as young girls. As members of high society in New York City with solid careers and relationships with the men in their lives, they each appear to be a part of a perfect situation. But are they? And what will they sacrifice to find out?

Susan Fales-Hill guides the reader through this engaging story as she follows the lives of the four interconnected women. Her writing provides an attractive visual and feel to life and society in New York City. She is up front and open as she not only explores the lives of these four women, but intermingles the importance of friendship, bi-racial issues, fidelity, and, most important, following your heart.

Interview with author Susan L. Krueger

Addie Slaughter
The Girl Who Met Geronimo
By Susan L. Krueger

Interview with the author


1. What made you decide to do a chapter book on Addie Slaughter?

It was a trip to the Slaughter Ranch in Cochise County. Reba Wells Grandrud made arrangements for our writers group to stay at the ranch and while we were there, Reba presented her talk on the Slaughter family. I realized others would relate to the children who lived on the ranch, especially Addie.



2. I understand John Slaughter is a rather well-known figure in the Old West. Tell us a little bit about what kind of man Addie's father, John Slaughter, was and how he related to his children.

John Horton Slaughter was a small man with big ideas. He wasn’t afraid to track down the meanest outlaw or to try to make a success of the biggest ranch in Southern Arizona. He doted on his own children and probably never forgot that he almost lost them to smallpox. The foster children that came to live at the ranch were also a joy to him. The family photo album is full of pictures of a smiling John holding one child or another.



3. Why did you decide to do the book about Addie, rather than John Slaughter?

I thought it would give children a unique perspective of what life was like in the Wild West to hear it in the words of a child who lived it.



4. Tell us about Addie's mother and her stepmother.

Eliza Adeline was a mature woman with two young children who left her home and family in Texas and followed her husband to start a new life in Arizona. She was well prepared for the task of setting up a new home. Viola, on the other hand, was a southern belle teenager with no idea of how to be a housewife and mother. It took time but she rose to the challenge magnificently.


5. What are some of the hardships Addie and her family endured while living in the Wild West?

There was the real and present danger of outlaws, Indian attacks, and wild animals. But, when I think of the smallpox that killed her mother, the tuberculosis that plagued her father, and the many injuries that happened around the ranch, I would have to say their greatest hardship was the distance to medical care.



6. How did you research the lives of the Slaughters?

Reba Wells Grandrud was the historian during the restoration of the Slaughter Ranch. Our collaboration made all her painstaking research available to me, including the stories that Addie had told her own daughter about growing up in Tombstone and on the ranch. Between the two, there is no better source.




7. The contents of your book are based on historical facts with some dialogue and background fictionalized. What percentage of the tale would you say is pure fact, and why did you include fictitious information?

Every bit of the book is as historically accurate as I could make it. While it is based on Reba’s research, she did additional research after the book was written to make certain all of our facts were correct. However, I did want Addie to tell her own story so the dialogue is, of course, mine. I wanted children to hear Addie’s voice so she could come alive to them.




8. There is a poignant scene in the book where Geronimo takes off one of his beaded necklaces and gently holds it out to Addie. And then, he bows to her. Was that a factual scene? Why do you suppose he did that?

Yes, this really happened. It was certainly the most memorable thing that ever happened to Addie when she was a child. Geronimo was on the Slaughter Ranch many times and had given Grandma Howell a hand-carved wooden spoon. It is believed that Geronimo’s generosity to the Slaughter family had to do with his respect for the determined, fearless John Slaughter.


9. The Slaughter Ranch has been restored and is open to visitors. Can you tell us where it is, and what guests can expect when they visit the ranch?

The ranch is 15 miles outside of Douglas in South-eastern Arizona. The ranch buildings have been restored and the area is beautiful. It is well worth a visit and will bring the time period alive for visitors. The website is: http://www.slaughterranch.com/slaughterranch/index.html



10. Is there anything else about the ranch or the book that you would like to share with us?

Only that I love family history and it has been a delight to preserve Addie’s stories.




11. If somebody wanted to contact you to speak at their school or historical group, how can they get in touch with you?

My publisher at http://www.fivestarpublications.com/or (480) 940 -8182 would be happy to hear from them.


Photo used with permission by Tim Trumble.

Book Review: 'Addie Slaughter': For young readers and adults

‘Addie Slaughter’: For young readers and adults

Title: Addie Slaughter: The Girl Who Met Geronimo
Author: Susan L. Krueger, ED.D.
Publisher: Five Star Publications, Inc.
P.O. Box 6698
Chandler, AZ 85246-6698
ISBN 978-1-58985-197-9
Price: $15.95

On a ranch located in the remote area of the Arizona- Mexico border in the San Bernardino Valley, there lived a brave little girl and her family in the late 1800s. Susan L. Krueger, experienced teacher in reading, brings the story of the Slaughter family to readers as she describes their life from the perspective of a young girl, Addie Slaughter, the daughter of Arizona’s famous John Horton Slaughter.

Susan writes in first person, using the voice of Addie Slaughter to tell the story of her family and their life on the ranch. Life was not easy in the 1800s, and readers learn about the hardships of ranch life and traveling across the west, but also get to celebrate and see the joys the Slaughter family shared, especially learning about Addie’s exciting experience of meeting the Apache warrior and medicine man, Geronimo.

Historical photos help to bring the reality of life in the Wild West to the reader, and it is fun and interesting to see what clothes Addie wore, where she lived and what the actual necklace Geronimo gave her looked like.

Susan joined historian Dr. Reba Wells Grandrud, PhD., the John H. Slaughter Ranch historian, in telling the story of Addie Slaughter; which is evident as the stories of the Slaughter family are told in the book. Only someone who knew the background of the family so well could contribute such close understanding of their family life and life on the ranch.

Addie Slaughter: The Girl Who Met Geronimo is an impressive read, and you don’t have to be from Arizona to enjoy the story and appreciate the historical reference of the Slaughter family. Although it is a chapter book written for young readers, adults can learn much from the life of a young child living in the late 1800s and will also find this book as a very interesting read.

Visit the book website for more information: www.AddieSlaughterBook.com!

Please check back tomorrow for a Q&A with the author!